Peep The Encore Players Club

Aloha! Encore unveiled their latest casino upgrade yesterday, a casual gaming pit designed to entice non-gaming millennials to the tables called Encore Players Club, a story we've been tracking since early November.

Well... here it is!

Frankly it is a bit less done up than I thought it would be. I expected the walls to be a little bit more closed in and fenced by more/larger TV's. I guess The Steve, doesn't want this to be a "older teen hangout center." Inevitably, the Encore Players Club will become a "fat guys in poorly fitting jerseys watching college football" area.... thus is the fate of every TV on the casino floor isn't it.

Does billiards count as "skill based gaming?"

Decor looks great. The purple lights add that "club" atmosphere. The low/lamp lighting infers that this is a sit down joint, not a stand up joint. They still managed to sneak a coupla blackjack tables in there. Love to see what the odds are compared to the rest of the floor.

This is most certainly an experiment in "casual casino design." Perhaps the end result here is the entire casino becomes integrated entertainment area... with bar tops, table games, couches, dice pits and gorgeous pool tables splayed between rows of slot machines. The idea of integrating casual entertainment (drinking, carousing, chillaxing, game playing) with formal casino gaming isn't a new or bad one. If diluting the casino experience is what it takes to teach folks that gambling is one life's greatest thrills, then go for it.

Advertisement:

Comments & Discussion:

Bloody hideous. An abomination puking all over a once beautiful casino floor. Plus $25 6-5 BJ!

Geoff posted on Sunday, 20th December 2015 - 11:47 am

Better / less "clubby" than I expected actually... That corner never seemed to have much going on, why not try something new there?

hail2skins posted on Sunday, 20th December 2015 - 3:49 pm

Thanks Chuck and MikeE for the pics. While I'll have to check it out in person, it really looks underwhelming in the photos. The website says $100 per head (food/drink minimum) to watch a game......who is going to do that? Think you can pay much less for a group at a better venue like Lagasse's Stadium.

Diablo posted on Sunday, 20th December 2015 - 4:11 pm

Thats pretty bad looking.
Take out the slot machines, plunk down some couches and bar stools, add some velvet ropes (no walls even?) and call it a 'club'??? Weak.

Drake posted on Monday, 21st December 2015 - 10:37 am

$100 to sit down and watch a TV in what looks like a glorified lobby? I'm suddenly missing the appeal here. Are hookers allowed to mingle or is this just meant to be an all-bro sausage fest?

I'm speechless that The Steve would go ahead and F'up a beautiful casino with this turd.
I'm obviously not the demographic this is pitched to, but unless your staying at Wynncore why would you entertain the idea of hanging out here. I would think the millennials would prefer The Gold Spike, Casino Royale, or even beer pong at O'Shea's.

gandy posted on Wednesday, 23rd December 2015 - 8:53 am

Wow how low can you go. Not too big to fail. Thoughts that come to mind after seeing this. The first time I walked through Wynncore, I thought to myself, this is what its like when Europe meets Vegas. Everything was detail oriented with a classy layout and ultra high end finishes. The casino was spacious without being too over the top, with the right mixture of different gaming options. Everyone dressed nice and the staff were very attentive.

Now the place is starting to look and feel like someone else owns it. I picture a guy that looks like Leisure Suit Larry calling the shots. Wynncore lost me as a customer a few trips ago when Steve Wynn was paraphrased as saying he did not necessarily want people who frequent McDonads to gamble in his casinos.

Okay Steve, obviously you do not need my money. Obviously you have forgotten where you came from and all the little guys who helped you out to Billionaire Row. With the recent negative gaming changes that further alienate gamblers, I am further convinced my gaming dollars are appreciated elsewhere.

However, that is the beauty of Las Vegas with so many choices....one can always find a place to gamble that attempts to offer better odds and welcome your business.

I digress. Party pit for kids without cash to gamble. Brilliant! My nieces and nephews sum it up pretty good for me. They fly into Vegas for two or three nights of hardcore partying, split the cost of the suites amongst themselves. To them gaming and shows is an after thought if at that.

As the kids say "just saying".

RPMCanes posted on Wednesday, 23rd December 2015 - 12:19 pm

Awful. Yes, a turd dropped right in the middle of formerly one of the most beautiful casino floors in town.

Excitement is something that I never felt while walking the (former) gorgeous Encore casino. It has changed a lot since it first opened. The final straw was the removal of the atrium to add that horrible club. The casino has become a lounge area for clubber kids since then. I've seen more people excited and happy betting at MacCarran airport than at Encore casino. This place has been scratched from my casino to play long time ago.

baboran posted on Saturday, 26th December 2015 - 7:20 pm

I agree with all the desultory comments. I was in Vegas the first month that Steve opened the Mirage. It was the HOT gambling place and for a few months Caesars next door was dead as the gambling crowd was at the Mirage.
When he opened Bellagio it had the most beautiful and classy casino on the planet .
Then when Wynn first opened it had a great gambling vibe.
In the early days of Encore it was a very red, but very exciting casino.
Alas all is gone. And arrogant Steve deserves to lose the fortune he has lost this year with the deterioration of his stock. Wynn is no longer an exciting casino. And when you go to 6:5 blackjack and only double odds on craps you are giving the finger to the gamblers who made you a wealthy man. And the Encore casino is no longer a casino. It is a staging area for the kids waiting to enter the clubs.
Let's face it- the corporations in Vegas are shitting all over gamblers and Wynn is adding insult to injury. Why have classy adults stay at your casino hotel and embark on several days participating in games of chance with style and panache when instead you can have 20 -25 year olds stay 4 to a room and wear their finest tee shirt to your club. They can afford to buy the marked up booze there because mom and dad decided not to charge rent on the basement room where they still live. Vegas has a place for everyone. And it is fun to be young and try to do Vegas on the cheap. But Wynn purported to never cater to that crowd. BS - that is exactly who is now attracting. And if they are dumb enough to pay $150 for a $20 bottle of booze perhaps they are dumb enough to play 6:5 BJ and low odds craps. But this too shall pass. And I hope that when that crowd moves on the gamblers stay away and Stevie boy walks thru an empty casino on a nightly basis.